Life boat or raft.



F. W. BOULTON.

LIFE BOAT 0R RAFT.l

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2. I9I5. IIENEwED Aue. 24. 1916.

1,202,961. Patented 001. 31,1916.

y W TNESSES: [N VEN TOR 5 i? 20 BY'eZerz/faulo, 2/ Mm.

A T RNEY.

FREDERICK WILLIAM B'OULTON, OF BOOTLE, NEAR LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

LIFE BOAT 0R RAFT.

neoaeei.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Det. 3i', 19ML Application filed February 2, 1915, Serial No. 5,678. Renewed August 24, 1916. Serial No. 116,700.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that l, FREDERICK WILLIAM BOULTON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Bootle, near Liverpool, England, have invented ascertain new and useful .improved Life Boat or Raft, of which the following is a specification.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a reversible life boat or raft of a simple, compact, eflicient and comparatively inexpensive nature, so con structed that when thrown into the water,

and irrespective of its position the same may y ments hereinafter described and finally claimed.

The nature, characteristic features and scope of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof and in whichi Figure 1, is a longitudinal sectional view of the life boat or raft, Fig. 2, is a plan view thereof, and Fig. 8, is a View in transverse section of the same.

The life boat or raft of the present invention is built up of an inner framework formed of longitudinal side members 1, and cross members 2, and an outer framework forming longitudinal members 3, and cross end members l. The outer members 3, may be, as shown in Fig. 3, of lattice work, this open form. being preferred for the sake of lightness, as is usual with raft constructions, although the sides rmay be built solid. The end spaces between the members 2, and 4l, are preferably arranged to carry buoyancy tanks such as 5, or in these spaces bread and water receptacles may be arranged with openings both top and bottom sothat access thereto may be/had from yeither face of the` boat or raft, The buoyancy tanks framework 8', are provided on each sidev and` upon each face of the raft, cross-seats f 10, being hinged between these two members 8, and 9. Hinged end pieces 13, are

provided, with which the members 9, may

be interlocked in any suitable manner. Each inner member 8, is preferably in a single .piece and of such width that it will meet the opposite member along the center line of the raft. It may if desired be made water-tight by means of packing along the edge, although this is not essential in view of the center partition 7. Any desired means may be arranged to lock these parts in the closed position. lVith a boat or raft floating in the water, both faces of course being collapsed, the top can be opened up and the bottom formed of the extendible inner members will form the bottom of the central chamber of the raft, closing this in completely water-tight manner. The inner edges, therefore, of theseV inner extendible members are preferably lined with rubber or like packing material at such parts as form joints when in the folded position. As shown in the drawings, central posts lll, can be arranged slotted to receive wedge members 15, carried by the eXtendible sides, but, of course, it is obvious that the fastening can take place in other ways.

The inner chamber can be provided with a number of crossmtnnbers or struts forming seats 16,

These extendible members according to `the present invention when in the folded posi- Y tion are adapted foliesubstantially'in the same plane as the outer faces of the raft, so that the raft may be smoothly passed over the deck of a vessel.

It is preferred to arrange a peculiar mounting of the seats on the inner and outer extendibl'e members. Brackets :20, are arranged on opposite sides of these members, pivotal pins 21, being carried by these brackets, so that the pins cn the inner edges form pivots in an axis lying underneath the seat, while the pivotal pins on the brackets on the outer extendible members lie in an axis witli tow ropes, or the like devices.

It will be seen that the raft ofthe present invention has the advantage that it can be `thrown into the water in any position, and

whichever face is floating upward that face 'can be opened up to provide extendibleseat paddles, lights and the like.

- raft.

members for increasing the effective draft of the raft and seating capacity of the same, while the arrangements providing for the extra seating form a water-tight bottom for 'the raft on the other face. The extra seats will, of course, be at a higher level than the usual seats of the boat. Those, arranged in the central chamber, are provided preferably with spaces or lockers to carry the oars or By the present raft construction a raft having extendible sides is provided without the necessity of canvas sides or like pieces. The extendible sides can, of course, be provided with rowlocks and the usual gear such as masts can be stored in such desirable places as under the fixed seats in the central chamber ot' the raft, all these parts being such that they can be attainable from either side of the This raft can be stored flat upon the deck one upon another in pairs, or of course, can be stored also on the edge. it is obvious that the ends of the boat can be hollow to receive tanks of oil for the purpose of calming the waves.

What I claim is: 1. A reversible life boat or raft embracing a spaced inner and outer frame to provide a central passenger receiving chamber, top and bottom decks covering the spaces between adjacent frames and extendible side pieces hinged to the respective decks of the oat. 2. A reversible life boat or raft embracing a spaced inner and outer frame to provide a central vpassenger receiving chamber, top and bottom decks covering the spaces be- `tween Aadjacent frames, extendible spaced side pieces hinged to the respective decks of theboat and4 collapsible seats operatively disposed between adjacent side pieces.

3. A reversible life boat or raft einbracing a spaced inner and outer frame to pro-.

boat center in collapsed position and collapsible seats operatively disposedl between adjacent side pieces.

4. A reversible life boat or raft embracing a spaced inner and outer frame to provide a central passenger receiving chamber and surrounding buoyancy chambers7 top and bottom decks for covering` the'vbuoyancj7 chambers, extendible spaced side pieces hinged to the respective-decks off which they inner edges of the innersidepieces meet at the boat center in collapsed position, means for locking the extendible side pieces in extended and collapsed positions and collapsible seats between adjacent side pieces.

5. A reversible life boat or raft embracing a spaced inner and outer frame to provide a central passenger compartment and surrounding buoyancy chambers, top and bottom decks for the said chambers, and collapsible members hinged to the respective decks operative for closing or permitting access to the passenger compartment independent of the position of immersion of the boat.

6. A reversible life boat or raft einbracing a spaced inner and outer frame to provide a central passenger receiving chamber, top and bottom decks covering the spaces between adjacent frames and collapsible members operatively connected with respect to the respective decks of the boat or raft for extending the frame work to increase the draft of the boat or raft.

7. A reversible life boat or raft embracing a spaced inner and outer frame to provide a central passenger receiving compartment, top and bottom decks covering adjacent frames, collapsible side and end members operatively connected with respect to the rebottom central passenger compartments includlng complemental decks surrounding each compartment and collapsible side and end members operatively connected with the respective decks of the boat or raft for vertically extending said frame Work.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

FREDERICK WILLIAM BOULTON. W'itnesses:

HELEN M. BYRNE, WILLIAM J. JACKSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

i Washington, D. C. 

